Wildlife

Here at Pinewood we are very lucky to be surrounded by a vast amount of wildlife. There are a huge number of birds which visit the many bird feeding stations daily, plus there are many other animals too.

If you feel like getting up early then why not make yourself a fresh coffee & sit outside your lodge and listen to the dawn chorus!! Here is a list of some of the birds & animals who visit us daily!

Blue Tits

These blue & yellow birds can be spotted all year round; they mainly feed on insects and seeds. They are very agile birds & are often seen hanging upside down on the feeders! They nest in holes in trees, although they have been seen checking out the smaller boxes in the managers garden! Typically they lay between 8 & 12 eggs in the next made by the female from materials such as wool, dead leaves & moss, & then it is lined with down. The mother keeps the eggs warm until they hatch. In 2009 we counted 7 baby blue tits that were being fed by both their parents on our feeders!

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

We have a male woodpecker which regularly visits the various fat ball feeders around the park & sometimes we are lucky enough to see him in our garden! He has a red cap on his head with black & white plumage and lives amongst the top branches of the trees.

Robins

We have many robins at Pinewood; we counted five on one very snowy day in January! They are easily recognisable by their red breast, & look very cute, however they are fiercely territorial, especially when looking for food or bringing up their young. They usually nest in woods, hedgerows and gardens, & the female generally lays between five & seven eggs, which she incubates for around 12 days. When they hatch they are fed by both parents; they possess the trademark robin shape & size, but for their first season they have a speckled brown breast.

Badgers

The badger is found throughout the most of the UK, & have the distinctive black & white striped face. These nocturnal animals feed mainly on earth worms, however we have had several in the garden over the winter and they love bird seed & peanuts!! They rely on their strong sense of smell to hunt out live food, and if the food is underground they use their strong claws to dig it out. Groups of badgers live in setts, underground tunnels & chambers which provide shelter & security. Females usually give birth around February and have between one & three cubs & they spend their first 8 to 10 weeks underground. Perhaps we will get to see them very soon in our garden too!

Grey Squirrels

We occasionally see grey squirrels in the garden at Pinewood and like the badgers also enjoy eating the birds peanuts! Often you see them burying them for later…although we have never seen them come back & dig them up again! The grey squirrels are bigger & stronger than the red squirrels which are native to Scotland mainly. They are a comical character especially when stealing from the bird feeders!!